Carannog
was one of the saintly sons of Prince Corun of Ceredigion, a son -
probably the eldest - of the founding King Ceredig Ceredigion. The Kingdom of Ceredig, being
invaded by the Irish and the King being advanced in years and infirm, the
nobles counselled him to abdicate in favour of his eldest grandson,
Carannog (presumably Corun at predeceased them both). The young prince,
however, was more devoted to God than to his own kingdom and fled such an
honour disguised as a beggar in order to live as a hermit in a cave at
Edilu, amongst the coastal rocks (or on the hillside) near Gweryd Carannog
(Llangrannog) in Ceredigion. Here he gave his time to prayer and to the
study of the scriptures. He shaped himself a staff with his knife and a
dove appeared and carried off the shavings. Carannog followed the dove
through the woods to a clearing. Where the bird had collected the wood,
the saint built Llangrannog Church.

After
a time, Carannog decided to travel as a missionary. He may have gone first
to Cerniw (Cornwall) where he founded the church at Langorroc (Crantock)
near Newquay. The Irish certainly thought he was a Cornishman when he
arrived to convert the people of Leinster. He was known as Cairnech of
Tuilen (Dulane in Co. Meath) in Ireland and is said to have been
associated with St. Patrick in the country’s evangelisation, although
this is chronologically impossible. He healed the blind, the lame and the
insane and there are many churches and places named after him in Leinster.
Not surprisingly, Carannog came into contact with King Dunlang of Leinster.
The King had a fine (perhaps sacred) tree which Carannog asked if he could
have. The monarch refused but, not long afterwards, it blew down in a
storm and so was to the saint. Carannog reserved the wood to build himself
a church and commissioned a well-known architect for the job. However, it
being a chilly winter, he gave away some of it to some visitors in need of
a fire. The architect was furious, but through his prayers, Carnnog
restored the missing wood. It was around this time that a
thirteen-year-old Irish prince named Tenenan (or Ternog) came to be
educated by Carannog. When he grew up, he travelled to the Royal British
Court (probably of King Arthur). However, he was so pestered by the ladies
that he prayed for leprosy to scare his handsome face. Everything happened
as he wished and Tenenan returned to Carannog. The Welsh saint bathed him
and the leprosy was cured. Tenenan insisted that Carannog bathe after him,
thus revealing that his teacher wore seven heavy iron belts around his
waist as a penitent sinner. Tenenan then departed for Brittany where he
founded a number of churches in honour of Carannog.

Carannog
eventually returned to Wales and again occupied, for a short time, the
same cave which had formerly been his hermitage. He was joined by a number
of brethren, and this may have made him eager to depart for a solitary
life elsewhere. Like most holy men of the time, Carannog had a small
portable stone altar. So, desiring to cross the Bristol Channel to
Somerset, he threw this into the sea. When it miraculously floated, he was
able to use it as a small boat and pass safely over to the West Country.
However, somehow the two became separated and Carannog landed near
Dindarithou (Dunster), the home of King Cado of Dumnonia, without his
altar. He made his way to Carrum (Carhampton) where he made enquiries as
to where it had come ashore. The High-King Arthur was staying in the
region at the time, undertaking the challenge of defeating a ferocious
dragon which was ravaging the local countryside. Arthur’s men had found
the altar at the mouth of the River Guellit (Willett) and had tried to use
it as a table, but everything that was placed upon it was immediately
thrown off. Arthur agreed to meet with Carannog, but he refused to return
the altar unless the saint rid the landscape of the fearsome dragon. So
Carannog prayed for the beast to come to him and - so it did, like a
servant obeying his master. The saint placed his stole round its neck and
led it into the great hall at Dindraithou, where it was presented to King
Cado. The King’s men wished to kill the beast, but Carannog explained
that it had only eaten sinners and sent it away instead. (The legend of
the dragon and St. Carannog as also been transeferred to Brittany,
although he never seems to have visited the region.) In return, Carannog
received not only his altar, but a grant of the village of Carrum, where
he subsequently built a famous monastery. This remained into
post-reformation times as a small ruined chapel in the parish. Eventually,
Carannog returned to Ireland and there he died on 16th May and was buried
at Inis-Baithen in Leinster or Tuilen (Dulane) in Meath.

Carannog
alias Cairnech should not be confused with St. Cairnech of Drumleen,
another 6th century Irish missionary whose feast day is 28th March. There
may also have been two further saints of this name since two alternative
ancestries exist.